I have been at work for 3 weeks almost and I have been struggling with different issues throughout the night.  My main issue is trying to deal with planter fasciitis on both feet but more so on the right.  I have tried new insoles and new shoes as well as different shoes I had laying around and nothing has helped.  It is getting less intense but it still makes for a long night walking on concrete floors!!!  I also have started to notice that when I wear shoes the part of the arch that is more towards the heel feels as if there is a knot there when walking but nothing is really there.  I also just started feeling like there is a stone or rock in my shoe near my heel area.
As far as the recovery I am still attending PT and will be for the next 2 weeks.  My mobility is good but not great and am still have pain off and on towards the bottom area near the incision as well as around the ankle area.  I am going to the gym about 5-6 days a week depending how my foot feels after work.  I do what I can to try and lose this weight I have gained (BTW I started off at 178 and got up as high as 203, I am now at 195).  I am swimming and getting in the sauna and steam room too.  Still not able to jog or run just yet.

Today is Sept. 21st and overall I am feeling pretty good except for some pain near the incision site.  I am still going to physical therapy twice a week.  The therapist is now doing ultra sound and massaging the area to try and loosen up the scar tissue and relieve some pain.  I am progressing pretty good but still have issues with some pain in the toe joints and ankle joint as well as the area near the ankle bone.  I am hoping it will go away and not the nural nerve that has entangled itself in with the scar tissue.  I still walk with a limp as I am still unable to walk normal because the joints hurt when I put weight on it and when I try and push off the pain is strong in the area around the ankle and incision.  I will see if it goes away in the next month or so and if not then I will return to the doctor.

Therapy and strength are getting a lot better.  I am able to get in the pool at the YMCA and have been doing some walking in it and that seems to help out a lot!!  Other things I do at the YMCA to help me is the stationary bike, leg press, treadmill, and some squats.  I am doing laps in the pool using a buoy because I can't flutter kick just yet.  Trying to get more range of motion is pretty tough when your leg is so weak, LOL.  I am able to walk in a shoe so thats a good thing cause last month I couldn't.

I go back to work on the 26th and will see if I am able to stand and walk for 8+ hours.  If not then I will have to see about another schedule until my foot is able to.  I am so ready to start riding my bike, swimming, and running!!!!  I would like to try and do a sprint triathlon sometime in March next year and hopefully end up doing a Olympic that year.  Because by the year 2014 or 2015 I would like to attempt a Florida Ironman!!!!!!

Oh, and before I forget again, the pics at the bottom of this post are from about 3 or so weeks ago.  I decided to go walking with the G/F and daughter and it ended up swelling up on me pretty bad.

My high arch!!

This is how my foot looks (see how its curved up)

How the scar looks today!! 

Swelling after walking for about 4 hours!!!!

This morning I had my 2 month post op check up and everything looks good he said except for the swelling.  He didn't say the swelling was really bad but would have liked it to have been less is all.  That plus I am still  having joint pain so he has me out of work til Sept 26th. but said I can go back to work sooner if I feel like I am able to and the swelling and pain has subsided.  He wants me to keep it elevated anytime I am laying around. 

I went to physical therapy yesterday (5th time) and they had me do all kinds of stuff.  They first started me off on the bike for about 8 min and then I went straight to the treadmill to walk for about 5 min.  This got the blood flowing and she went straight into some massaging of the ankle joint and bottom of the foot because both were very sore and tight (or swollen).  After that she was stretching my toes cause they seem to be the worst as far as being stiff and hurting.  After all that I walked around the room barefooted trying to loosen up the joint and to try and stop limping and hobbling.  It was very difficult because the toe joints hurt so much when the toes are brought backwards when walking.  I don't have the strength to push off with my toes either so walking makes it very difficult right now.  After that I played a game of pick up using my toes only and wow that was hard, its even hard for me without the injury LOL.  The day ended with some electric shock treatment and ice!!! 

I have been given the OK to walk crutch free and do whatever I can tolerate except running or anything impact once the swelling and pain has left.  After my check up I went to the YMCA and got in the pool for about an hour and walked forward and backward. This helped out a lot!  My goal is to be walking in a shoe with minimal limp by Sept 26th so I can get back to work and my training!!  

Physical therapy going good

It's been 4 days of therapy so far and everything seems to be going good.  Therapist has been doing massage on the side and under my foot to try and loosen things up and that has seemed to help out alot!!  The last session I was at on Thursday the therapist tried a electric stimulation on the ankle joint and I think that really has loosened things up.  For the most part I am now walking (limping flat footed) without crutches.  The only time I use crutches is when I am going somewhere with a lot of walking or in the morning when my foot is very tight.  I use flip flops to walk around in because walking barefoot doesn't allow as much cushion and starts to hurt the bottom of my foot.  I have pain on the top and bottom of my foot when I walk or put weight on it.  I am unable to actually walk because my toe joints and ankle are still to stiff and sore at the moment but hopefully in about 3 weeks I will be good.

Aside from the injury, I have decided I am going to go to school to be a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) because I think I would enjoy it. Next semester I will start taking some pre reqs and getting them out of the way.  

Here is what the scar looks like today.  Still kinda swollen but not to bad huh!!

Forgot to mention last weekend me, my daughter and g/f decided to go school shopping and ended up being on my feet for 4+ hours.  I was still in the boot the whole time too.  My foot ended up becoming so swollen but had no pain.  It looked like I was allergic to something, LOL.  Here are some pics after a shower and it was still swollen.  It still gets swollen after a long time on my feet but that is common.  I know my feet still have an orange tint from the iodine but thats hard to get off.

I have been to my 3rd therapy and things are starting to loosen up some.  I now have 10 degrees of motion in my ankle up and down.  I am able to put some weight on it and kinda limp my way around but not actually walk just yet.
As far as the incision it is looking really good.  The steri strips are all off as well as the scabs.  I tell you what when those strips were on it became really itchy under the tape cause of the dead peeling skin.  I am still have some itching but not as bad.  The numbness is still there and is kinda sore around the ankle area still.  I will post up more later next week when I start walking some. Here is a pic of my current scar, LOOKING GOOD!!

First day of physical therapy!

This morning I had an appointment for my first therapy.  The therapist basically just evaluated me and did some measurements as far as how flexible my ankle was.  After that he had me do some easy stretching exercises to try and loosen up the ankle some.  Wasn't anything hard this morning at all. I was told I need to try and lose the steri-strips by my next visit on Wed.  I came home and took off a middle one cause it was almost off and one of the end ones.  While taking these off it started peeling my dead skin off and was very weird, LOL.  I am going to hold off on the others until my doctor says to take them off.  (he wanted me to wait til they fell off but that wasn't going to happen because they are on there pretty good).
As far as everything else it seems good.  The incision is getting scabs on it and some have already came off. Foot is peeling from all the dead skin from I don't know what.  Foot is still swollen and is tender around the top, bottom, and near the ankle area.  I still have numbness around the incision and have a feeling that will be there for a while.  I also am still getting some tingling or sharp jolts in the incision area but that is from the damage to the nerves he said.

Here is a picture of how it looked about 4 days before taking 2 strips off

Strip off, looks good

this shot looks kinda weird, LOL. That stuff peeling maybe just the glue they put on or could be dead skin. Which ever it is it felt good to be off. Oh, and the white on my heels is because my feet are so dry and probably has dead skin.

I am still unable to walk at this time but hopefully in a week or 2 I will be walking in the boot.  I have been sleeping without the boot for the last week and it feels so good but may have to start wearing it at night again  to prevent my foot from getting to relaxed and going to limp.  My doctor is hoping I will walk into his office at the beginning of sept in either the boot or my shoes!!  We shall see.